"Were the jewels ever found?" asked the reporter.
"No. They were not on the dead man, nor were they in the possession of my grandfather."
"It is reasonable to suppose, then, that there was a third man and that he got away with the jewels?" asked Ernest Weston.
"It seemed so, and for a long time this theory was accepted. I suppose it is now, but some doubt was cast on it by the fact that only two trails-of footsteps led to the house and none out. There was a heavy snow on the ground. If none led out it was obviously impossible that anyone came out."
Again there was silence. Ernest Weston sipped his coffee slowly.
"It would seem from that," said Ernest Weston, at last, "that the jewels were hidden before the tragedy, and have never been found."
George Weston smiled.
"Off and on for twenty years the place was searched, according to my mother's story," he said. "Every inch of the cellar was dug up; every possible nook and corner was searched. Finally the entire matter passed out of the minds of those who knew of it, and I doubt if it has ever been referred to again until now."
"A search even now would be almost worth while, wouldn't it?" asked the broker.
George Weston laughed aloud.